Over the summer, NCC hosted the cooking competition where students were given trays full of ingredients and challenged to make an innovative four-course meal.

Then the culinary students had to wait almost six weeks to learn who won at the college's Lehigh Valley Food and Wine Festival at the Sands Bethlehem Event Center. Lagasse announced the winners, shocking and confusing one of them.

Allentown native Emily Heydt, 20, was so surprised to see Lagasse that she thought he was just introducing all of the contestants.

"Everyone starts cheering and I was like, 'Oh my God.' Then it hit me," said Heydt, who now lives in Denver. "It was definitely the highlight of my life for sure."

The other two winners were Olivia Razzano, of Phillipsburg, and Tyler Baxter, of Bethlehem. Baxter couldn't be reached to talk about his experiences.

Both Razzano and Heydt said they felt confident they were top contenders after having great days of cooking, but nothing prepared them for the moment.

After Lagasse announced the winners, they got to chat with the star chef and work in Emeril's Chop House in Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, Razzano said.

Last month, the trio finally got rewarded for their wins when they headed to New Orleans to intern in Lagasse's three restaurants: Emeril's New Orleans, Emeril's Delmonico and NOLA.

David McCelvey, Emeril's Homebase vice president of operations and culinary, said they offered the internships in partnership with Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem to give back to the community and spread Lagasse's love of cooking and food.

Lagasse works closely with the community college to find workers for his Bethlehem restaurants and used college training space when they first came to the region, McCelvey said.

"It was a natural fit," he said. "We do things like this from time to time. This was a special group for us and we really wanted to make it a great time for them."

The winners rotated through the three eateries, spending two days in each of them.

"They had a pretty serious work week," McCelvey said.

It was exciting and exhausting as they worked 78 hours over the six days, Razzano said.

"It was fun. I really enjoyed spending time with all of the students," McCelvey said. "They were just all great kids and I thought all of them have very prosperous futures in front of them. We were all impressed with them."

Given the fast pace of the condensed internship, Heydt said, she focused on taking as many notes as she could, being helpful and talking to as many people as possible.

Phillipsburg's Olivia Razzano received hands-on instruction during an internship in Emeril Lagasse's New Orleans restaurants.Photo courtesy Northampton Community College

Both Razzano and Heydt said they had the unique opportunity to work closely with the saucier, the person responsible for soups, stocks and the like, during the internship.

"This station has their hand in every other station," Heydt said.

The saucier at Emeril's New Orleans started out as a busboy or dishwasher and worked his way up through the kitchen, she said.

"He had such a depth of knowledge," Heydt said.

Most of the chefs attended the Culinary Institute of America, while many of the cooks had little formal training, just a passion for food, she said.

"The food culture down there is just part of everything," Heydt said. "It's just such a huge aspect."

All three of the Louisiana restaurants have distinct personalities and feels, but they share a commitment to tremendous food and service, McCelvey said.

"It's the real world," he said. "New Orleans is a very real busy restaurant town."

Emeril's New Orleans is Lagasse's first, flagship restaurant with an elegant but high-energy vibe, McCelvey said. NOLA is a more casual and funky eatery in the French Quarter where diners eat on three floors connected by a glass layout.

Razzano got to work in NOLA on a Friday and Saturday night, and she said it was her favorite of the three.

Emeril's Delmonico is the most formal restaurant with a century-long history in New Orleans, McCelvey said. Emeril took over the eatery in 1998.